Review: “We’re Gonna Die” (Haven Theatre)

On the surface, I really like the idea of a show that is made up of a rock singer and a backing band. In fact, I was really excited going into this show, especially since Haven Theatre Company has a production of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” in its not-to-distant past. So, if anyone can tackle what could be described quickly as a female approach to the same idea, it should be them. And, in all regards, the production managed to do a reasonable job of putting forth a one-woman show about confronting her own mortality. The backing band was solid (more on that shortly). The lead singer (Isa Aciniegas) was well matched to the songs, her vocals being both impassioned and frenzied, while capturing a soulful resonance at the right times.

So, wherein is my problem with this show? First, the execution of the basic concept. Normally a statement like that would put the blame on the director, but the failing here is not on Josh Sobel. It is on playwright Young Jean Lee. While speaking at the top of the show, Singer (Aciniegas) says that she is going to share thoughts with us that she’s been having that have to do with the darker times and her intention in doing so is to give us positive things to reflect on when we hit those more difficult moments (I’m paraphrasing here, but that’s a quick summation of her opening monologue). She then spends the first half hour relating tales and singing songs that do not work toward that stated purpose, but which seem to have been written as exposition for some play that might have a plot, and may happen in the future, but not tonight. Luckily the second half of the piece gets on track, and not only targets the stated goal of the show, but makes it quite enjoyable.

The show itself is brief (barely over an hour and perhaps a quarter more). And it is loud. The company kindly provides earplugs. The show can easily be heard through them clearly, and wearing them prevents tinnitus, so I recommend them heartily. The band is backed up against a brick wall and no matter where you sit in the tiny Janet Bookspan Theatre (one of the ground floor spaces at The Den), you’re never more than 16 feet from an amplifier.

So, the songs that make up the better part of the show are really well written. And the band rocks them hard. Spencer Meeks is a tremendous guitarist and has an enviable stack of effects pedals which color the moods of the world we’re visiting in this show. Drummer Sarah Giovannetti sets the beat and drives her way through some impressive solos, and Jordan Harris and Elle Walker (both on keys and backing vocals) blend really well and create a great overall sound. As a concert, I was both impressed by this show, and I enjoyed it.

Then there were the stories/monologues/whatevers. None of them were badly scripted. Young Jean Lee is a skillful writer. But, the words didn’t necessarily ring true. Part of that is due to the presentational structure of a concert setting. Singer’s direct interaction with the audience at what should be moments of connection are inhibited by a microphone planted against her lips. Touching moments feel more like stand-up comedy than instances of emotional vulnerability. Also, there seems to be a casting issue here. I’m not besmirching Arciniegas, nor her talent. She’s good. But, she’s not in her 40’s. She’s not old enough to be the contemporary of her friend who she is talking about in one scene, a friend who was 40-something long enough ago that the two have now lost touch and she can speak about it casually as having taken place a few years ago. Another scene talks about Singer confronting her own realization of mortality when she gets her first gray hair. As an early middle-aged individual, plucking that first gray hair could definitely cause one to realize that youth has come to a close. Once again, though, the script puts that occurrence in Singer’s past, and in her early- to mid-20’s, it is highly unlikely that she’s sensing that her youth has now flown.

I found myself constantly struggling with a disconnected feeling from the material. I see what Sobel and his cast are attempting to do, but never was I drawn into what could have been an empowering, or at least entertaining evening about life, death, and everything else. So it is that I merely got to hear some well-executed music, and some sub-par storytelling.

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